Saturday, December 13, 2008

Well, another fascinating post from yours truly!

Honestly, how does this much "stuff" stay rattling around up in my head? Well, it's good to have a place to let it all out.

I was wondering the other day...if a student does not know, and has a friend who does not know...how can they learn and teach each other? I mean, what if no one knows how to do what it is they want to do? Who will teach them? How much motivation does a child need to have to compel them to keep searching for answers? At what point do we "give up" in our quest for knowledge? At what point would a young child "give up" while questing after knowledge?

Another question that's been burning in my mind is: What types of information will they seek out? What if a child cannot read, for instance? That's a pretty intense learning curve! Not easy to teach oneself, either. Don't get me wrong. I'm all for the student taking control over his/her own learning....they should be taking more responsibility for those issues, but at what age is it too young? At what age does a child not understand the implications of ignoring certain aspects of his/her own education? Are we willing to put too much freedom into the hands of one so young that the implications 5, 10, 15 years down the line are not fully understood? What would our culpability be to that situation?

See, I told ya there was some heavy-duty stuff rattling around up in my head!

Later,
Bev

1 comment:

  1. Hi Bev,
    Love this post. You do have some stuff up there to think about. How about children being responsible for their own education? They start at birth I believe. When they enter this world the learn how to ask for food, the diaper to be changed and to look cute so people will pay attention to them.
    My youngest, Ryan, was a premie. He was 26 weeks in development when he was born weighing 1lb.15 oz. When they first put him in an incubator he was in the middle of the room where everyone could see him and he could watch the action. After a while he grew to a tiny bed on the back row, this took about three weeks. He was not happy there because he could not see everything and he was not getting the attention he desired. So he learned to hold his breath and set off the alarms so they would come pay attention to him. Then because they don't make diapers that small he lay naked and so being a boy he would pee on the doctors and nurse who stood in front of him with their backs turned. They would feel wetness and their back and have to turn around and see where it came from. After a while of these stunts they moved him back to the center of the room where he could get the attention he was desiring. Now just think, this kid should still have been in the womb cooking and he was out at six and 1/2 months manipulating his world. No one taught him this, he learned it on his own.
    So why wouldn't you allow a five year old to take some responsibility for their own education. Children and adults can learn fast when they have a desire or need. Think of the tikes that save the lives of people by figuring out how to dial the phone. Instinct is a strong motivator or teacher whichever is needed at the time.

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